Monday, September 24, 2012

Pssst. Want some weed? Don't go to Montana. The government says you have a right to be sick but you do not have a right to treatment, at least when it comes to medical marijuana.

State restrictions on medical marijuana access and sales do not violate patients’ rights to pursue health care under the state constitution, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled. The decision overturns a lower court opinion that had blocked new regulations on the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law.

The restrictions limit medical marijuana dispensers to three patients each and prevent them from making a profit. The limitations essentially gut the original law and make it difficult for patients to obtain medical cannabis, said Elizabeth Pincolini, a board member of the Montana Cannabis Industry Assn., a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

And they want to prevent the dispensers from making a profit. Sounds a lot like income redistribution.

The rewrite of the original statute “was designed to make it as hard and painful as possible to participate in this program,” she said. “It’s bad news for patients. Everyone has to grow their own [cannabis] or find a provider to provide medicine for free.”

Pssst. Want some weed? Don't go to Montana. The government says you have a right to be sick but you do not have a right to treatment, at least when it comes to medical marijuana.

State restrictions on medical marijuana access and sales do not violate patients’ rights to pursue health care under the state constitution, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled. The decision overturns a lower court opinion that had blocked new regulations on the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law.

The restrictions limit medical marijuana dispensers to three patients each and prevent them from making a profit. The limitations essentially gut the original law and make it difficult for patients to obtain medical cannabis, said Elizabeth Pincolini, a board member of the Montana Cannabis Industry Assn., a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

And they want to prevent the dispensers from making a profit. Sounds a lot like income redistribution.

The rewrite of the original statute “was designed to make it as hard and painful as possible to participate in this program,” she said. “It’s bad news for patients. Everyone has to grow their own [cannabis] or find a provider to provide medicine for free.”